The number of hours young people spend doing PE and sport in secondary schools in England has fallen by more than 12% since the 2012 London Olympics, despite promises by ministers that the games would “inspire a generation” and kickstart a massive expansion of sport in the state sector.
The fall is recorded in the latest figures released by the government, which show a drop from 326,277 hours in 2011/12 to 285,957 in 2022/3. Although the total went back up after the pandemic, it then fell again over the last year by more than 4,000 hours.
